Indianola Male and Female Seminary opened on September 24, 1860, and the name was changed to the Des Moines Conference Seminary in September 1865. On September 21, 1867, the school was upgraded to a college and renamed Simpson Centenary College to honor Methodism's then most renowned living bishop, Matthew Simpson, and to celebrate the centennial of American Methodism. In June 1885, "Centenary" was dropped from the name, becoming simply Simpson College.
Wallace Hall (formerly Science Hall) housed George Washington Carver's first college classrooms
Other notable construction includes the 55,000-square-foot Kent Family Campus Center, which replaced the old Brenton Student Center as the center of student life. The 85-acre (340,000m2) tree-lined campus is bordered on the north by Buxton Park Arboretum. The architecture blends tradition with modernity. The theater building, an example of the Brutalist architecture that dominated American campus construction in the 1970s, was renovated and added on to in 2010–11, softening its features.
Simpson invested in what has been dubbed the most innovative artificial turf system in the world, FieldTurf Revolution. A new-era Beynon BSS 1000 running track was also installed for the 2011–12 school year.[12] The renovation of Simpson's athletic facilities ended in 2014 with the construction of a new bi-level weight room in the former pool area. This move was made possible by constructing the Indianola YMCA, which has a 25-yard pool and hosts swimming meets for Simpson College, Indianola High School, and the YMCA Tide swim team.
Organization and administration
The college had an endowment of $78.6 million as of February 10, 2017.[13]
The Simpson College softball team won the NCAA Division III National Championship in 1997 and 1999. Simpson's softball team appeared in one Women's College World Series in 1971.[14]
Student life
Simpson ranks among the nation's top 100 colleges in the percentage of students who study abroad, according to U.S. News & World Report.[15]
The Simpsonian[16] is the student newspaper, first published in 1870.[17]Sequel is an annual Simpson literary arts magazine, assembled from student and faculty contributions including paintings, photographs, drawings, short fiction, and short non-fiction. KSTM, 88.9, is a student-operated radio station.
John C. Culver Public Policy Center
The Culver Center was established at Simpson College in 2010 to honor the service of John Culver, a former Iowa senator and congressman. The program awards four-year scholarships to select incoming Simpson students who demonstrate a commitment to public service and civic engagement. The annual John C. Culver Lecture brings a prominent public service or political figure to campus to meet with students and deliver a lecture open to the public. Lectures have included Senator George McGovern, political journalist Mark Shields, Supreme Court reporter Linda Greenhouse, and former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel.[18]
Nate Boulton received his BA in Political Science and History from Simpson College and is an Iowa state senator and former Iowa Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Chad Buchanan, 1995 graduate, General Manager of the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association.
Simpson College was the first college attended by George Washington Carver.[20] Carver entered Simpson as an art major, but became interested in the natural sciences after receiving advice from a fellow student. He once remarked that his time at Simpson taught him that he was "a human being." Carver left Simpson College to complete his undergraduate education at Iowa State College (now Iowa State University). Both schools have buildings named in his honor: Carver Science Hall at Simpson and Carver Hall at Iowa State University.
Historian Avery Craven (1885–1980), who specialized in the study of the 19th-century United States and the American Civil War, received his B.A. from Simpson in 1908. The Avery O. Craven Room of Dunn Library at Simpson holds Craven's personal library of over 2,000 volumes, notes, manuscripts, correspondence, and memorabilia.[21]
Former Chicago Alderman, 52nd Mayor of Chicago, and current Cook County Clerk David Orr also attended Simpson College for his undergraduate degree. Orr is a Democratic politician from Chicago. He was Alderman of the 49th Ward in Chicago from 1979 to 1991. In 1987, he served briefly as Mayor of Chicago after the death of Mayor Harold Washington and was recognized for his strong and sensible leadership during one of the most tumultuous periods in Chicago's political history.[22] Serving his 28 years as the Clerk of Cook County, Orr was responsible for the third largest election district in the United States (among other duties).[23]
↑ Plummer, William; Floyd, Larry C. (2013). A Series Of Their Own: History Of The Women's College World Series. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States: Turnkey Communications Inc. ISBN978-0-9893007-0-4.
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